CHAPTER FOUR
COOPER
“Is that how you greet your favorite sister in the world?”
I smiled at the cheeky little thing standing in front of me—well, she was as cheeky as me, anyway. Then I stepped forward and gave her a tight hug, not letting go until she groaned and told me that I needed to let her breathe. Now I was grinning as she pushed me off, her lips curving into a pout before she returned my grin with a reluctant one of her own.
“That’s how I greet my only sister in the world,” I emphasized.
Not only my only sister, but actually the youngest in the family. Our mom had given birth to three boys straight up, with me being the third boy. But our hell-raising toddler days made our parents realize they wanted a girl, and crazy as they are, they went for it. And lucked out. Jane was four years younger than me and currently starting her career as a freelance writer for a quirky but popular magazine—again, something that our parents didn’t expect but supported, anyway. That was just the Oliver way.
Jane eyed me critically with her sharp blue-gray eyes, and I did the same to her. She was as blonde as me, but she outranked me in the dimples department, having one on each cheek. Give it a few years, and I was pretty sure this cheeky girl would outrank me when it came to charm, too.
“You look pretty haggard,” she said, her tone full of disapproval. “Mom would fuss over you if she saw how much weight you’ve lost.”
“I lost weight, but I’m still buff,” I argued. “This weight suits me.” I used to be really bulked up, especially back in college, but I discovered that shedding some of that off made me feel better, especially when I was racing. Tilting my head, I checked my sister from head to foot.
“And you look pretty healthy,” I said. “Have you been gaining?” I chuckled when she smacked me on the arm.
“Say that one more time,” she warned.
“I was kidding. But seriously, you look great.” I tilted my head again. “Like you are dating someone?”
I meant it as a joke. But suddenly Jane’s eyes lit up to sparkling, and her face practically glowed—which, in turn, had my own eyes narrowing. She didn’t miss my expression and waved a hand right away.
“Yes I’m dating someone, it’s new, and no, I’m not taking him to any family reunions just yet. I’ll let you know if it gets serious.”
If it gets serious…Jesus. I frowned at the thought that my baby sister was fooling around with some guy I hadn’t met yet. I was about to give her a lecture, but fought back the urge, knowing she wasn’t going to appreciate it. Jane was a sassy chick who could hold her own, and I was pretty sure she was going to try to put me in my place before I even finished my speech. It still boggled my mind sometimes how quick she grew up.
“Stop frowning and cheer up that I visited you,” Jane scolded.
I forced the frown away and tried to smile again, to which she nodded triumphantly. We were walking towards my apartment unit, as she’d been waiting for me to arrive in the lobby from practice. Jane texted me beforehand that she was there, which made me rush home right away and almost forget about the incident on the race track.
Almost.
A flash of Sara’s face entered my mind, particularly those cool blue eyes. Something pleasantly hot settled in my stomach, and before I knew it, I was grinning as I ushered Jane inside. My apartment was pretty minimalistic, located on the second floor because I didn’t like waiting for elevators. It was also decorated with stuff that reminded me of home, such as a painting of a ranch scene and some cowboy hats hanging on the living room wall. Jane was chattering a mile a minute, and I barely paid attention as Sara’s cool, clipped voice slid through my ears.
And then Jane said something that grabbed my attention.
“You’re going to absolutely love her, I promise.”
“Her?” I echoed.
Jane beamed, her eyes sparkling again. “Yes, you doofus. Haven’t you been listening? I have a friend who’s perfect for you, and you’re going on a date with her tonight. You’ll love her.”
She looked so excited that I didn’t have the heart to refuse Jane—hell, I never had the heart to refuse her, whatever she asked of me. She’d set me up on dates before with women she thought were perfect for me, but none of them worked out so far.
I might as well give this one a try, I thought. It would be a fun change of routine, considering I’d been practicing and watching racing for days now without any break. While I didn’t sleep with race bunnies anymore, I did go around on a date or two with some interesting women that led to…well. I had needs, after all, and there were women willing to take care of them and be taken care of. But they were fleeting, none of them serious enough for me to consider seeking them out again and visa versa.
Who knew? Maybe this would turn out better.
I grinned. “Count me in. Just tell your friend not to fall in love with me on the first date.”
Jane replied by smacking me on the arm again.
*****
The woman’s name was Nancy Bennett, and she was very pretty and bright. She was also very smart, a writer just like Jane but more focused on writing humanitarian pieces that dug deep into the well-being of society. Our date was practically seamless, starting from the meet-up at the restaurant. While Nancy wasn’t really familiar with racing other than the basics, she seemed genuinely interested, which made it easier to talk about it whenever she asked questions.
She was three years younger than me, which was pretty much the age range I usually went for whenever I sought out women—not too young that they’d end up making me feel uncomfortable and downright perverted, and not too old that they’d end up looking for any sort of commitment. I could tell she was in this for fun and was probably just doing Jane a favor when she agreed to this so-called blind date, but ended up enjoying herself, too. It was all working out, really, and was the best date I’d had in a long time. There was just something missing, though.
There were no sparks between us.
At least, not as intense as the sparks I felt for someone else.
I shook it off my mind, thinking how unfair and rude it was to be thinking about someone else right now. I focused on the woman in front of me, studying her animated features as she talked about her latest work and the hilarious antics that happened before she could get to her story subject. We had a good laugh about it and talked about all other things, growing comfortable with each other as the minutes passed by. I could tell we were friend material, but anything more, I didn’t know yet. Maybe if I made some kind of flirting move, I could see if the sparks would intensify and see where it would lead.
I was just about to test that out when something caught my eye—a flash of blue and a familiar figure entering the restaurant door, which I was facing. The body alone, covered that it was, had my own body reacting right away, but it was by looking up and seeing her face that I confirmed it was really her.
Sara was coming in with someone: a tall, distinguished guy who looked to be in his early forties and was wearing a very expensive business suit. Sara was more casual…if you could call her powder blue dress that. It only made her skin milkier and my mouth water. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun, and somehow, I missed the curls spread out on her shoulders. Gorgeous pink lips.
They took a seat on the other end of the restaurant, and Sara offered the guy the same smile she gave me. It was reserved, but maybe with a little touch of friendliness in it. God, even when she was being friendly, she looked untouchable—and somehow, some damn how, that only made me want to touch her more.
It was insane. It was also irrational, as I’d never thought about any woman this much. I was young, and I wasn’t blind. Nor was I pretentious, and I knew without a doubt that there would be other women out there who would be easier to be with: case in point, the woman sitting right in front of me. There was no need to obsess over this one woman who wouldn’t give me the time of the day, because she was older and apparently had older tastes, too. Plus, I was never attracted to older women to begin with, and couldn’t figure out why I was so attracted to her.
“I’ve never been to a ranch before,” Nancy was saying, tilting her head and giving me an interested look. “Any chance you and Jane can take me to one when you visit back home?”
It was said in a friendly tone, but I didn’t miss the hope there too. She really wanted me to say yes more than anything, and the thought came to mind that maybe I had misread the friendship thing earlier. I watched her eyes as I decided to test it.
“How about Jane take you? I’m sure she’d love to introduce a friend of ours to the family.”
And there it was: the flicker of disappointment before she covered it up and smiled at me.
“That would be great.”
Shit. I didn’t mean to lead her on. In fact, I didn’t think I was leading her on, considering I was keeping the flirting minimal and staying on safe topics. I decided to be more careful from now on, not wanting to hurt her. But I wasn’t going to lie to her and tell her that I wanted her even though I didn’t, because there was no point. I just didn’t play that way.
Our main course arrived, distracting us from the conversation enough to appreciate the restaurant’s dishes. I tried to not pay attention to another woman altogether: I really did. But for some reason, my mind was fucked up, and I found myself glancing out of the corner of my eye in Sara’s direction from time to time.
She looked like she was having a great time—if you called smiling from time to time and minimal conversation a great time. I didn’t know her that well yet, but I wondered if Sara laughed. I also wondered how her laugh would be. Would it be as cool and polished as she was? Would it be bright and cheerful? Or husky, throaty?
Something in me ached to know. Again, it was irrational, and I couldn’t figure out why I was stuck on that thought for a long, long time. I wondered if Sara threw my schedule away, as I had a feeling she would. Or maybe she didn’t, because she’d end up using said schedule to purposely stay away from me.
Shaking my head, I tried to erase her from my mind and focus on the date at hand.
No point in dwelling on someone and just getting disappointed about it.